Kendra Margaret Cocksedge (born 1 July 1988) is a retired New Zealand

Rugby Union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player and

Cricketer Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

. She played for the New Zealand Women's national rugby union side, the

Black Ferns The New Zealand women's rugby union team, called the Black Ferns, represents New Zealand in women's international rugby union, which is regarded as the country's national sport. The team has won six out of nine Women's Rugby World Cup tournamen ...

and for the

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

provincial side. She was a member of the

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and

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Rugby World Cup winning squads. In 2018 she won the Kelvin R Tremain Memorial Player of the Year Award at the annual

New Zealand Rugby New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to t ...

awards.

Early life

Cocksedge was originally from

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

, she played rugby from a young age and made the Taranaki and Hurricanes Secondary School teams. She also represented the

Central Hinds The Central Hinds are the women's representative cricket team of the Central Districts Cricket Association, based in central New Zealand. They play their home games at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth, McLean Park, Napier, Fitzherbert Park, Palmersto ...

at cricket, debuting as a 15-year-old.

Cricket career

Cocksedge wore cap #100 for the Central Districts Hinds, playing 38 List A one-day matches and five Twenty20s. She debuted in the 2004-5 season and played through to the 2007-8 season State League final (after she has already become a Black Fern). When her rugby and cricket commitments required her to chose a single sport, she retired from cricket.

Rugby career

In 2007, at the age of 19, she made her debut for Canterbury after moving there to study at Lincoln University. She later made her international debut for the Black Ferns on 16 October that year against the

Wallaroos The Australia women's national rugby union team, also known as the Wallaroos, has competed at all Women's Rugby World Cups since 1998, with their best result finishing in third place in 2010. Australian women have been playing rugby since the ...

Wanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...

. In addition to

Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

, Cocksedge has also represented New Zealand in the sport of Rugby sevens and was a member of the winning team of the Women's Sevens World Series in 2013. Kendra Cocksedge (Canterbury) with the ball

Kendra Cocksedge (Canterbury) with the ball

2014–2017

In 2014 Cocksedge started in all nine matches for the Canterbury Women's Provincial Team, performing strongly and scoring 101 points. Following this Cocksedge made her Test debut for New Zealand and was named in the squad to the

2014 Women's Rugby World Cup The 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup was the seventh edition of the Women's Rugby World Cup, and the sixth held in Europe. The World Cup Final took place on 17 August. All of the pool games for the World Cup took place at the Centre National du R ...

. In 2015, she was top point scorer with 26 points at the

2015 Women's Rugby Super Series The inaugural 2015 Women's Rugby Super Series was an international women's rugby union competition contested by 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup, World Cup holders England women's national rugby union team, England, runners-up Canada women's national ...

. She was named New Zealand's Women's Player of the Year at the end of 2015 and went on to be named in the

2017 Women's Rugby World Cup The 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup was the eighth edition of the Women's Rugby World Cup and was held in Ireland in August 2017. New Zealand became the 2017 champions by beating England 41–32 in the final on 26 August. Matches were held in Dubl ...

squad that won the tournament.

2018–2021

Cocksedge became the first woman to be receive the Kelvin R Tremain Memorial Award for Player of the Year at the New Zealand Rugby awards in 2018. In 2019 she was part of the winning team of the Women's Super Rugby Series. In the

2021 New Year Honours The 2021 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

, Cocksedge was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to rugby. Cocksedge was one of five players who signed with the Matatū rugby team for the inaugural season of the

Super Rugby Aupiki Super Rugby Aupiki is a professional women's rugby union club competition in New Zealand. Its inaugural season was held in March 2022. It is a steppingstone between the Farah Palmer Cup and the Black Ferns. Aupiki translates as ‘''the ascent to ...

2022

Cocksedge was selected for the Black Ferns squad for the

2022 Pacific Four Series The 2022 Pacific Four Series was the second edition of the Pacific Four Series. The competition was hosted by New Zealand from 6 to 18 June. Matches were played at two of the venues which will host the delayed 2021 Rugby World Cup – The Trusts ...

. She was recalled into the team for the August test series against the

for the

Laurie O'Reilly Cup The Laurie O'Reilly Cup is the trophy competed for by the women's rugby union teams of Australia women's national rugby union team, Australia and Black Ferns, New Zealand. The two nations met annually between 1994 and 1998, with New Zealand winnin ...

. Cocksedge appeared in her fourth

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

when she made the Black Ferns 32-player squad for the delayed

2021 Rugby World Cup The 2021 Rugby World Cup was the ninth staging of the women's Rugby World Cup, as organised by World Rugby. It was held from 8 October to 12 November 2022 in Auckland and Whangārei, New Zealand. It was originally scheduled to be held in 2021, ...

. She helped the Black Ferns claim their sixth

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

title. Cocksedge later retired from rugby after the World Cup.

References

External links

*
Black Ferns Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cocksedge, Kendra 1988 births Living people New Zealand women's international rugby union players New Zealand female rugby union players Female rugby sevens players New Zealand women cricketers Central Districts Hinds cricketers Rugby union scrum-halves Canterbury rugby union players Cricketers from New Plymouth Rugby union players from New Plymouth Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit